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Russia woke up quite early, as usual, but was still taking his time in bed for an hour already. It's not that he's lazy, no, he has work to do, he has a w- special military operation to lead and all.
He just felt... weird. Not how he would after an evening of drinking, though, today his mind was quite clear. He didn't even go to sleep too late, and he dreamt well, it wasn't that sort of morning sickness either.
There just was something wrong with his stomach. It was twisting and turning, and as the time went on it was getting more and more obvious. And annoying. And almost painful.
Did all the apples and apple juice truly finally get to him? Did their acidity burn through his stomach, is that why he's feeling like that now?
RF bit on his lip from the sensation inside of himself and tried to sit up, yet immediately had to shut his eyes closed at the churning in his abdomen, akin to the feeling of liquid sloshing in the stomach after a large drink and yet still unfathomably different. No, it wasn't the apples, it wasn't in his stomach, he was pretty sure by now, but where then-
A sharp tinge of pain paused his train of thought as his eyes opened and widened in shock. And then another one hit him in a spot near the previous one, making Russia hiss in pain. God, what could that even be?! Does he even have organs in there?!
Federation shifted in place and groaned as another surge of pain gripped his lower abdomen. Okay, no, this really wasn't funny. He's a busy man, he can't think about some weird pains, he had to get up and get to work!
Except that his legs felt so heavy and tired, and he felt his body heating up, and his thoughts were turning into a mess because of the pain and the sloshing in his abdomen getting overwhelming swiftly. Fuck, what if something's actually wrong? He should better go to a doctor now, but, considering their different anatomy, he'd probably need a countryhuman...
And how nice is it that the person most adjacent to a doctor amongst their kind is his own aunt.
***
Russia leaned on a tree in the forest, ten minutes away from the house at most, and with his current speed it'd probably take him two more hours to reach the town.
An explosion of pain had him wincing and clutching onto his abdomen while feeling his body ever so slightly bumping out under his hands. And another one, straining his legs. It was for sure the worst pain he's felt in his life by far, comparable maybe only to one he felt back then in the war. Not exactly sharp, just constant and pulsating , taking up all of his attention at all times.
Shivering a bit, RF took off the backpack he was wearing and carefully pulled out a chocolate bar. Since he went out so early, before any other inhabitants of his house could catch onto what was happening, he didn't have time to eat, so he just took as much chocolate with himself as possible. Oddly enough, as soon as he'd take a bite of it, he'd feel... better, if only a bit. It was subduing the pain ever so slightly and that was all that Russia needed to stay sane.
***
RF's body was trembling, wracked with pain completely. His legs were barely moving, his abdomen felt heavy and bloated, hurting persistently with increased intensity. He felt like he was going to pass out before he'd reach the destination, having gone through at least a dozen packs of chocolate already. Maybe more.
But finally seeing the town in front of him gave him a sliver of hope.
***
"Hello, Russia", Austria greeted after they opened the door to his nephew. It was nearing 10 AM already, so ever since the few panicked messages and a small chat earlier in the day she had all the time needed to prepare.
"Hi- please, it goddamn hurts", Russia mumbled and dragged his body inside. In a painstaking minute he was in the cabinet and lying down on his back, squirming in place slightly here and there.
"I'll do a check with my ability to see where the blood flows and such to inspect if the pain is connected to that", Austria warned and Federation nodded a bit as he closed his eyes. They lifted her hands up, activating the ability...
...what.
"...I'm not sure how that's possible, but... there's blood. And. waste.", he exhaled, shifting their hands in place, and Russia shivered as the liquid – the blood..? – moved inside him from it, hitting against his... "...In something that most resembles a uterus."
RF opened his eyes just to stare at Austria.
"What."
"...That's my best guess. You seem to have it, but no... external organs to let the blood out. Which, indeed, seems to be menstrual blood."
"Y-you're joking.", Russia mumbled. "Why would I possibly- I'm a guy?! And I'm a country, why the fuck would I be-"
"Please don't scream. We'll figure it out", Austria reassured and turned to her cabinet. "First of all...", he walked to Russia and handed him two pills and a glass of water. "Take the painkillers, they should make it much more bearable for you. But no more than twice a day, and not when the pain is bearable enough. It's subjective, of course, but the less pills you take, the better", they explained while RF took the medication. "Now, I'm really not sure why you have... what is happening to you right now, happening, but the least I can do is make sure all the blood goes somewhere. I'll try to clean it and send it back to your blood flow so that it doesn't just pile up inside of you now", Austria's hands shifted in the air again, and at first it felt painful and weird but then Russia slowly felt relieved, his blood going back to normal circulation instead of just staying in...
"...How do I get rid of it? Preferably fast.", he asked nervously.
"...Go to a human clinic?"
"They'll, like. Jail me for this. Or something.", Federation realised. Austria sighed.
"I'd advise to try to wait through the... period, anyway, before attempting anything. And it's probably the best if you come to me at least daily to deal with the blood, considering how quickly it seems to... build up.", this was all still so weird to even talk about.
"Okay- oh, right, by the way, uh, I have a date planned for the day after tomorrow- do you think I could, you know... get pregnant..?"
"...Humans don't typically get pregnant while on period. Also, please explain to me how this would be possible if you clearly specifically don't have a vagina.", Austria told tiredly.
"...I mean, just, having sex while on period? Is that not what gets people pregnant? ...What?", Russia huffed from his aunt's even more desperate expression.
***
Russia's first night went rough. Mainly because he didn't quite anticipate that for the painkillers to work more or less seamlessly, you should take them as soon as the pain returns and not when it's back in full bloom.
He was lying in bed limply, the realisation that he'd have to struggle like this for an hour longer or so was crushing. Yet not as crushing as the sheer pain in his body! He could almost physically feel... that organ filling up with blood, pinning him down to the bed agonisingly as cramps shot through him one after the other, pulling and straining on every cell of his.
...Well at least he wasn't actively bleeding.
***
Even with the painkillers taken, right after waking up not to repeat previous mistakes, Russia still felt bad by afternoon of the next day. It seemed to be a different kind of it this time, though, as now he was struggling to breathe. The shirt was just so tight on him-
RF barely held himself down from screaming as he looked down. Of course it was hard to breathe, the shirt sat extremely snug around his chest and his nipples were visible through the fabric clearly! Blushing, he unbuttoned the shirt quickly after having made sure the door was locked and having prayed that his parents wouldn't want to arrive now, and then all he could do was stare in horror at the distinct breasts on his body. He lifted his hand up shyly and touched them, feeling pleasant warmth rize up in his chest.
Is he dreaming? He had to be dreaming. He wasn't sure why they were harder to accept than the period – perhaps because they were just so obvious and clear. What the hell, really?.. Russia, growing literal fucking boobs out of nowhere?..
Left with no option, he could only put on a hoodie instead of the tight shirt, hoping that outgrowing it wasn't something possible.
...And maybe, just maybe, he might have to go through Belarus' things to find something that would fit him.
***
"Is something wrong?", Austria clarified once she was done with the procedure, looking down at Russia who hasn't spoken a word since he came over. Quite uncharacteristic of him, even if considering the context – by the fifth day, when even his period was weakening, you'd expect him to be more relaxed and not more tensed than before.
They were graced with an answer, as RF mumbled a quiet 'mhm'. "And that is..? Can you please elaborate?"
"...I feel like I'm going insane", Federation managed quietly – his voice definitely sounding higher than before, but maybe it was just nervousness- "First the period, okay, sure, great, somehow that happened, I can work with that, but no, my voice went this fucking high and all girly, and my body just looks so girly now, my Adam's apple is gone, and you haven't seen what happened to by hips, and just-", Russia pulled on the dark hoodie he was wearing and pressed it to his chest tightly, and thsn turned to the side, leaving Austria shocked at the sight of his clearly rather large now chest. "What the actual hell is happening to me..?!"
"...Don't scream. There has to be an explanation for this, I'm certain", Austria sighed heavily, watching RF (clearly still really emotional. Hormones..?) and noting all the changes to themself to build a working theory. "So, we're sure it's not a natural country transition?"
"Well duh, it's not, I'm having a fucking period right now", Russia groaned.
"Is there any medication that you've been taking recently? Besides the painkillers, I'd assume?"
"And now that's, like, weird, because literally nothing- I mean, I guess I took something but it was for my stomach"
"...What was it?", Austria clarified carefully.
"Oh, um, estradiol, I think?"
"...What."
"What? I just took it because I thought, what if I ate too many apples and drank too much apple juice and burned a hole through my stomach or something? What's wrong with that?"
The two stared at one another, Russia in confusion and Austria in dawning realisation.
"Russia, the medication for such situations is named esomeprazole. Not estradiol. Do you know what estradiol is."
"...I mean, it sounded familiar so I took it..."
"How did you even...", they paused. "You brainwashed the seller, didn't you", and got a small nod in response. "Russia, estradiol is. A hormone."
"...As in?", RF looked back at him innocently.
"...It's a form of estrogen.", another confused blink. "...The hormone that trans women often take.", something finally clicked.
"W-what."
"When did you start taking those pills?"
"...A couple weeks ago", if countries could go pale, he would certainly be doing just that.
"And how many have you been taking..?", Austria final asked the main question.
"...Like, I thought that with how many apples I eat, I'd need a lot... And then I doubled that... so like... three or four pills around that many times a day..?", Russia told shyly.
"...How were you taking them."
"...Kinda thought that, if I'm taking it for stuff like apple juice, I might drink them with apple juice. ...And it was vodka one other time. ...And beer one another one time."
"...Please remind me to kick Reich for failing as a father this much. And USSR as well."